The Fair Labor Standards Act provides critical protections to U.S. workers, including a way for them to demand accountability from an employer who has violated wage laws. You could have grounds for such a claim if your employer has failed to pay you at least minimum wage, pay you for the total hours you’ve worked, or pay you the overtime you’ve earned. In addition to recovering the pay you’re owed, a successful claim could also include an additional form of compensation called “liquidated damages.” Here’s what you need to know about these awards and whether you might be eligible to receive one.
What Are Liquidated Damages Under the FLSA?
Liquidated damages are a pre-agreed amount of money that one party must pay to the other if they breach a contract — usually for things like delays, non-performance, or failure to meet specific terms.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which governs wage and hour rules under federal law, entitles workers who bring claims under the statute to “liquidated damages” under certain circumstances. In an FLSA claim, a worker can recover back pay —the pay they should have received from their employer but did not. Workers are granted FLSA liquidated damages equal to the back pay award if the worker’s claim meets specific requirements. Thus, liquidated damages can effectively give workers double their back pay for unpaid wages, minimum wage, or overtime.
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What Is the Rule for Liquidated Damages?
Courts must award liquidated damages in FLSA lawsuits filed by employees unless an employer can prove that they acted in good faith under the liquidated damages law. Thus, an employer might avoid a liquidated damages award if it can show that it acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to believe it complied with the FLSA. However, employers usually must take proactive steps to demonstrate their good-faith efforts to comply with the FLSA.
An employer cannot avoid liquidated damages simply because it did not know about a specific rule under the FLSA, as a court may find that the employer should have known the law and thus had constructive knowledge of the illegality of its pay policies. In contrast, an employer might avoid liquidated damages by showing that it sought and followed the advice of legal counsel in developing its pay policies.
Is DOL No Longer Pursuing Liquidated Damages in Its Wage Audits?
In June 2025, the Wage and Hour Division (WDH) of the U.S. Department of Labor issued a bulletin rescinding a prior bulletin governing liquidated damages in administrative matters. The new bulletin clarified that the WHD could not supervise the payment of liquidated damages in any FLSA administrative matter. Specifically, the bulletin noted that although the FLSA authorized the WHD to oversee the payment of unpaid minimum wages or overtime, the statute did not allow the DOL to settle claims or recover liquidated damages unless it filed a lawsuit to pursue an enforcement action. Thus, the WHD’s current policy no longer pursues liquidated damages in any pre-litigation or resolution.
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Has your employer not been paying you the wages they owe you? Depending on your employer’s conduct, you may become eligible for an award of liquidated damages in your FLSA claim. Contact Moon Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation with our liquidated damages lawyers and for help pursuing your claim.
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